Stand Up To Cancer

Highlights from the World's Leading Breast Cancer Meeting
December 9-13, 2009

This December, more than 8,400 people from 97 countries descended on San Antonio for the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, now in its 32nd year. What began as a small gathering of mostly local colleagues in a hotel has exploded into an international event that draws physicians, scientists, advocates and media from all over the world (58 percent of attendees this year were from outside the United States) to discuss the latest in breast cancer prevention and treatment.

Part small town and part city, San Antonio is quickly overwhelmed by the energy of late breaking science as groups of people speaking multiple languages huddle over abstracts and posters. Restaurants are filled with animated conversation, and even cabdrivers pose questions like, "so what do you think of the bisphosphonate research?" before you have time to suggest a destination.

Although breast cancer has many success stories, over 40,000 women died of this disease in the United States last year. Researchers are now coming to a greater understanding of the complexities of breast cancer, and realizing that it is not one disease but several with varying natural histories and prognoses. Scientists and clinicians are working to develop new, highly specific, targeted therapies that will be more effective and spare women the debilitating side effects associated with breast cancer treatment.

Here's a sampling of some of the exciting news that came out of this year's meeting, which is now jointly sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research (SU2C's scientific partner), the University of Texas Health Science Center and Baylor College of Medicine.

Five Year Data Support Herceptin's Role in Boosting Breast Cancer Survival

Dennis Slamon, M.D., Ph.D., director of clinical/translational research for the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Revlon Women's Cancer Research Program at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and a co-leader of a Stand Up To Cancer Dream Team, presented five year data on the efficacy of Herceptin in treating breast cancer.

Herceptin targets HER2, a gene associated with more aggressive breast cancer. Slamon's results showed significant improvement for women with early breast cancer treated with drug combinations that include Herceptin. Prior to the introduction of Herceptin, women with this gene had significantly shorter survival than those without it.

Based on the success of Herceptin, Slamon believes that fewer women should receive chemotherapy regimens that include anthracyclines because they contribute to higher rates of cardiac toxicity and acute leukemia. He acknowledged that this is controversial because anthracyclines have been a standard component of adjuvant chemotherapy for many years and his recommendations represent a departure from an approach that is credited with helping to lower the mortality rates from breast cancer. Yet in Slamon's view, women who get the anthracyclines are "paying a higher price in safety and getting little added benefit."

To learn more about Dr. Slamon's research, click here.

Bisphosphonates May Lower the Risk of Invasive Breast Cancers in Post-Menopausal Women

Millions of post-menopausal women take drugs known as bisphosphonates, sold as Fosamax and other brands, to increase their bone density and reduce their risk of osteoporosis. New studies presented at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium indicate that taking these drugs may also reduce the risk of invasive breast cancer.

Rowan T. Chlebowski, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine at David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and chief of the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, presented data from the Women's Health Initiative that showed women who took bisphosphonates had significantly fewer invasive breast cancers than women not using these drugs.

Previous studies have indicated that bisphosphonates reduce the number of recurrences and cancers in the other breast by as much as 30 percent. "These agents appear to make bone less hospitable to breast cancers," Chlebowski said.

To learn more about Dr. Chlebowski's research, click here.

New Approaches to Treating Metastatic Breast Cancer Show Encouraging Results

In at least one study that showed a real treatment effect, Kimberly Blackwell, M.D., associate professor of medicine and director of the Clinical Trials Program in Breast Cancer at Duke University Medical Center, showed that women who received Herceptin along with Tykerb had improved overall survival of 14.5 months compared with nine months on Tykerb alone.

This is dramatic because these women had already failed on several Herceptin-containing regimens. The theory behind this approach is that the Herceptin and Tykerb together form a "total blockade" of the HER2 pathway, which is more effective than using either drug alone. The trial enrolled 296 women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

To learn more about Dr. Blackwell's research, click here.

--Diane Balma, executive director of SU2C